Regulation of nuclear radiation exposures in India

India has a long-term program of wide spread applications of nuclear radiations and radioactive sources for peaceful applications in medicine, industry, agriculture and research and is already having several thousand places in the country where such sources are being routinely used. These places are mostly outside the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) installations. DAE supplies such sources. The most important application of nuclear energy in DAE is in electricity generation through nuclear power plants. Fourteen such plants are operating and many new plants are at various stages of construction. In view of the above mentioned wide spread applications, Indian parliament through an Act, called Atomic Energy Act, 1964 created an autonomous body called Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) with comprehensive authority and powers. This Board issues codes, guides, manuals, etc., to regulate such installations so as to ensure safe use of such sources and personnel engaged in such installations and environment receives radiation exposures within the upper bounds prescribed by them. Periodic reports are submitted to AERB to demonstrate compliance of its directives. Health, Safety and Environment Group of Bhabha Atomic Research Centres, Mumbai carries out necessary surveillance and monitoring of all installations of the DAE on a routine basis and also periodic inspections of other installations using radiation sources. Some of the nuclear fuel cycle plants like nuclear power plants and fuel reprocessing involve large radioactive source inventories and have potential of accidental release of radioactivity into the environment, an Environmental Surveillance Laboratory (ESL) is set up at each such site much before the facility goes into operation. These ESL's collect baseline data and monitor the environment throughout the life of the facilities including the decommissioning stage. The data is provided to AERB and is available to members of the public. In addition, a multi-tier system of AERB permissions is in place to ensure that all aspects of safety have been considered before permission to operate is granted. The stages where permission of AERB is essential are site selection, design data, and several stages during construction and operation. The details required by AERB include provision for treatment and storage of radioactive waste, de-commissioning procedures and provision of costs. In addition to AERB, nuclear power plants have to comply with the requirements of Ministry of Environment and Forests and get their clearance. This is given on the basis of Environmental Impact Assessment Report which should satisfy the authorities that no ecological damage will be caused and the facility will not have adverse effect on the environment. In addition, the State Pollution Control Board where the facility is to be located has to permit the site of the plant for its proposed discharges into the environment. It is largely due to the above comprehensive regulatory controls that none of the plants in India had any accident during the last 34 decades of operation. The type of measurements carried out by the ESL's and results from a few typical ESL's will be presented.     

Seasonal variation in amylase, invertase, cellulase activity and carbon dioxide evolution in a tropical protected grassland of Orissa, India, sprayed with carbaryl insecticide

A distinct seasonal variation in the enzyme activities and carbon dioxide evolution in soil, with a maximum in summer, was observed in soil treated with carbaryl and in control soil. There was no significant difference in the rate of enzyme activity between 0 and 10 cm and 10 and 20 cm depth of soil. Carbaryl insecticide applied at a normal agricultural dose did not have any inhibitory effect on soil enzyme activity, or on the rate of CO(2) evolution. However, the cellulase activity was greater in the surface soil of the control plot than in the treated plot.     

Changes in amino acid profile and metal content in seeds of Cicer arietinum L. (chickpea) grown under various fly-ash amendments

Seeds of Cicer arietinum L. plants are edible and a valuable source of protein. Accumulation of toxic metals in the edible part of the plant, grown in fields close to fly-ash (FA) landfills, may pose a threat to human health. In the present study, the effects of FA and its amendments with different ameliorants viz., garden soil (GS), press mud (PM) and saw dust (SD), on total soluble protein contents, amino acid composition and metal accumulation in seeds were investigated in var. CSG-8962 and var. C-235 of C. arietinum. Plants accumulated adequate amounts of essential metals viz. Fe, Cu, Zn in seeds, while the toxic metals such as Cd and Cr were taken up in smaller quantities. The accumulation of Cr and Cd was less in var. C-235 than var. CSG-8962. Amendment of FA with PM enhanced the amount of soluble protein and amino acids in both varieties and was found to be superior among all tested ameliorants. Both quantitative and qualitative analysis of amino acids showed better response in var. C-235 as compared to var. CSG-8962. Thus var. C-235 seems to be suitable for cultivation in FA contaminated areas due to more accumulation of essential metals and less accumulation of toxic metals in seeds. Application of PM may further improve the growth of plants and nutritional quality of seeds.     

Role of microbes,metabolites and effector compounds in host–microbiota interaction: a pharmacological outlook

Environmental Chemistry Letters - Microbial cells react with intestinal surfaces and produce enzymes and metabolites that influence human health, host metabolism and immunity. Gut...     

A multivariate statistical approach for the evaluation of spatial and temporal dynamics of surface water quality from the small reservoir located in the drought-prone area of South-West India: a case study of Tiru reservoir (India)

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - With the use of different multivariate statistical analysis methods, spatio-temporal fluctuations in the water parameters of Tiru reservoir located at...     

Synthesis and Evaluation of Mechanical Property of Chitosan/PVP Blend Through Nanoindentation-A Nanoscale Study

Journal of Polymers and the Environment - Biocompatible chitosan/PVP blends of different weight ratios were prepared by the solution casting method. The blends were characterized for morphology,...     

Environmental issue of exotic catfish culture in Uttar Pradesh

A survey was conducted in Uttar Pradesh to enlist the available exotic fish species in culture. The culture and feeding details of unofficially introduced Clarias gariepinus was collected from 419 ponds existing in rural areas of 23 districts of Uttar Pradesh. The data indicated that 32% ponds were culturing exotic fishes of which 79% cases are of monoculture of exotic African catfish. Feeding analysis of these exotic African catfish revealed that 7% cases subsist on natural pond feed while 29% cases are fed on slaughter house waste. In 32% cases of the exotic magur monoculture, chicken waste was given whereas 11% cases were recorded with fish waste feeding. The possible threats and environmental risks of such unauthorised and indiscreminate culture of exotic magur has been discussed in this paper.     

Haematological characteristics and bone fluoride content in Bufo melanostictus from an aluminium industrial site

Fluoride concentration in bones and differential haemotological characteristics (RBC, haemoglobin, haematocrit, mean corpusclar haemoglobin and mean corpuscular volume) were measured in amphibians, Bufo melanostictus, collected from fluoride-contaminated and -uncontaminated areas. The average haemoglobin content, total RBC count and haematocrit (%) in blood samples were found to be significantly reduced, while mean corpuscular concentration and volume were significantly elevated in individuals from the contaminated area in comparison to those from the uncontaminated area. Fluoride concentration was approximately 11 times greater in the bones of toads from the contaminated area.     

Study on the fluorescence characteristics of bromadiolone in aqueous and organized media and application in analysis

The fluorescence spectroscopic behavior of bromadiolone (anticoagulant rodenticide), a substituted 4-hydroxycoumarin derivative, was investigated in water and in organized media like micelles and cyclodextrins. A detailed study on various photophysical parameters like fluorescence intensity (I_F), quantum yield (), lifetime (τ) and steady state fluorescence anisotropy (r) of bromadiolone in aqueous and in organized media was carried out. Bromadiolone in aqueous solution was observed to be in an aggregated state, thereby showing weak emission due to self-quenching. Marked enhancement of fluorescence intensity was observed in organized media like micelles and β-cyclodextrin. A preliminary investigation has been done to find out whether this enhancement of fluorescence can be used to develop a sensitive analytical method for determination of bromadialone in aqueous media. A linear relationship between the fluorescence intensity and concentration of bromadiolone was observed in the range of 0.15–7.9 μg ml⁻¹ in cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and 0.5–26.4 μg ml⁻¹ in β-cyclodextrin medium. The lower detection limit was found to be 37 ng ml⁻¹ in presence of CTAB and 23 ng ml⁻¹ in β-cyclodextrin. Comparison with 4-hydroxycoumarin, an unsubstituted analogue, was made.     

A review of textile industry: Wet processing,environmental impacts,and effluent treatment methods

The word “textile” means to weave and was taken from the Latin word “texere.” Nowadays, textiles not only fulfill humankind's basic necessity for clothing, they also allow individuals to make fashion statements. As one of the oldest industries, the textile industry occupies a unique place in India. It is responsible for 14% of the total industrial manufacture in India. However, the textile industry is also considered to be one of the biggest threats to the environment. Pretreatment, dyeing, printing, and finishing operations are among the various stages of the industrial textile manufacturing process. These fabrication operations not only utilize huge quantities of power and water, they also generate considerable amounts of waste. The textile industry utilizes a number of dyes, chemicals, and other materials to impart the required qualities to the fabrics. These operations produce a significant amount of effluents. The quality of effluents is such that they cannot be put to other uses, and they can create environmental problems if they are disposed of without appropriate treatment. This review discusses different textile processing stages, pollution problems associated with these stages, and their eco‐friendly alternatives. Textile wet processing is described in detail, as it is the key process in the industry and it also generates the greatest amount of pollutants in textile processing. The environmental impact of textile effluents is discussed, as textile effluents not only impose negative effects on the quality of water and soil, they also imperil plant and animal health. In this paper, various methods for treating textile effluents are described. Discussion of physical, chemical, biological, and advanced treatment technologies of effluent treatment are included in this paper.